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Scottsdale chef Matt Taylor moving to Gertrude's at Phoenix's DBG

If you've been following the dining scene in metro Phoenix for the last five years, you've heard of rising chef Matt Taylor, who is taking over at Gertrude's at Phoenix's Desert Botanical Garden on March 4.

Taylor is stepping down as executive chef at Market Street Kitchen at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, where he initially worked with James Beard Award-winning chef Robert McGrath before heading the kitchen on his own.

Canadian-born Taylor has worked with chef Michael Mina, another Beard winner, in Las Vegas and had a long run as executive chef at Metro Brasserie in Scottsdale. He has been in some of the most prolific kitchens in the Valley, including Noca in Phoenix and Mary Elaine's, the Phoenician's former AAA Five Diamond restaurant. He also had a short stint at August, celebrity chef Josh Besh's New Orleans restaurant.

Taylor was tapped for the Gertrude's job after chef Stephen Eldridge left in January. Taylor's culinary skills wowed Skip Hause, who operates Gertrude's and its parent company, Fabulous Food Fine Catering and Events.

But it was Taylor's personality that sealed the deal. "He's well-spoken, easy-going," Hause said. "He is an excellent fit."

This is peak season at the Desert Botanical Garden, so Hause doesn't anticipate big changes to the restaurant's farm-to-table, "Arizona-cuisine" menu until summer.

Gertrude's, named for one of the garden's founders, Gertrude Divine Webster, opened in January 2013. Eating at the restaurant does not require garden membership or admission.